This minor planet is named after the figure from Greek mythology, Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades, the Underworld. His capture marked the last of the twelve labors of Hercules. It is also the name of an extinct constellation, Cerberus, now contained in the eastern part of Hercules.[2] (It should not be confused with Kerberos, a moon of the dwarf planet Pluto.) The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center before November 1977 (M.P.C. 3758).[18]